SHE’S an inspirational woman who spoke out and won justice over her abuser uncle after 16 years.

But today, Lisa Stephenson is urging survivors of child abuse to silently show their support for each other by lighting a candle in their homes.

As the Chronicle has previously reported, brave Lisa waived her right to anonymity and revealed the torment she suffered at the hands of her uncle Ronald Bowman.

Bowman, at the time 51 but now 68, was jailed for two years in January 2010 for indecent assault on a female and gross indecency with a child.

From the age of nine, Lisa, now 27, suffered in silence for a two-year period as she was forced to take part in sick “games” with Bowman.

Terrified of spoiling her relationship with her close-knit family and fearing nobody would believe her, it took Lisa, with the support of her husband Paul, 15 years to tell her family and eventually go to the police.

After the court case, where Lisa bravely testified, the mum-of-two set-up a Facebook group to support others in the same situation. The group snowballed and soon had more than 1,000 members, with people joining from around the world.

Now, as Christmas approaches, Lisa is urging survivors of child abuse and their families to support each other in what can be a tough few weeks by simply lighting a candle in their living rooms.

Lisa, who lives with her Paul and her two daughters, aged two and 11 months, in Blaydon, Gateshead, said: “For many survivors of child abuse, Christmas time is a particularly difficult time of year and many struggle through it.

“Some of the people I’ve been speaking to have been saying how they’re going to struggle in the next few days.

“Because it’s an issue that affects people all over the world, even our group has people joining from all over the country and overseas, the only way I could think about reaching out to everyone was by everyone lighting a candle at the same time in their homes.

“So I decided to ask people to light one today at 8pm to silently show their support.

“You don’t even have to be a survivor of a family member of a survivor, you can just do it to show your support. It’s a way of showing we’re all there for each other and you can do it from the comfort of your own living room. I think of the most important things is that survivors or those still suffering abuse don’t feel isolated and alone.”

Lisa’s Facebook group You Are Not Alone: Support to Child Abuse Survivors, has more than 1,000 members and administrators that talk to and support survivors.

“It’s incredible how well the group is doing,” said Lisa. “We have administrators who actively work with the members.

“We work really closely with them and we’ve had some great success stories. One girl was in a really dark place with self-harming and alcohol, but she’s turned her life around, is now employed and now says she loves life. It’s just great that we can help.”

Lisa’s abuser Bowman, of Hamilton Crescent, Arthurs Hill, Newcastle, was given a two-year prison sentence after being found guilty of two counts of indecent assault on a female and two counts of gross indecency with a child.